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The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board meeting will be held Wednesday, December 6, 2017, in Room 142, Curtiss Hall, on the Iowa State University campus in Ames. After coffee at 8:30 a.m., the meeting will be called to order at 9 a.m. and adjourn at 11:30 a.m. See the link for the full agenda: LC Advisory Board December 2017 meeting.pdf

AMES, Iowa — Calmar, in northeast Iowa, will be the site of the last listening session to help guide the future of Iowa State University’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

The listening session, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in the Wilder Rooms 104-105 on the campus of Northeast Iowa Community College at 1625 Hwy 150 South in Calmar.

A listening session to gather input on the future of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will be held Wednesday, Aug. 16, from 5-7 p.m. at the Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis, Iowa. The listening session is free and open to the public.

The organic agriculture industry continues to grow and was listed as a $43 billion industry in the U.S. in 2015, with an 11 percent increase in the number of organic businesses. In addition, local food producers continue to increase in Iowa, marketing their crops through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations, farmers markets, and to restaurants and food service outlets.

The Drake University Agricultural Law Center, in cooperation with Farmland Stewardship Solutions, the Iowa Water Center, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and The Nature Conservancy is hosting a state-wide conference to help landowners share their experiences and learn how to protect their land, care for the soil and water, and develop the value of their farmland.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed into legislation on May 12, 2017, Senate File 510, a bill that included language to “eliminate the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.” However, he vetoed this segment of the bill, sparing it from elimination. Although the Leopold Center remains, Gov. Branstad approved moving its funding to the Iowa Nutrient Research Center at Iowa State University.

The Leopold Center, named in honor of renowned Iowa-born naturalist Aldo Leopold, was created as part of the 1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act, also signed by Governor Branstad.

AMES, Iowa— David D. Myrold, professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Science at Oregon State University, is the guest speaker for the 2017 William H. Pierre Memorial Lecture in Soil Science at Iowa State University (ISU).

AMES, Iowa — Three former Iowa legislators recall the 1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act and establishment of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture for the Shivvers Memorial Lecture. “The Leopold Center at 30 and beyond” is the theme of this year’s lecture with guest speakers Paul Johnson, Ralph Rosenberg, and David Osterberg. They will share their thoughts on the past, present and future as the Center commemorates its 30th anniversary this year.

AMES, Iowa – The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has awarded grants for 21 new research and demonstration projects to begin this year. The grants will aid in the advancement of sustainable agriculture while protecting Iowa’s soil and water and help Iowa citizens increase the availability of locally grown foods. The new grants, totaling $1.4 million, are awarded through the Leopold Center’s four research initiatives: Ecology, Marketing and Food Systems, Policy, and Cross-Cutting.

A farming couple who advocate for sustainable agriculture and a USDA agronomist are the recipients of the 2016 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture. David and Corrine Williams of Villisca and Tom Kaspar, Ames, will be accepting this prestigious award on March 22 at the Iowa Water Conference in Ames.

AMES, Iowa—The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture’s 2016 annual report is now available in print and online. The report reviews the 2016 fiscal year –July 1, 2015–June 30, 2016– and was mailed to requestors in late November.

Summaries of five recently completed research projects are now available from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. The projects were funded by the Leopold Center’s long-running Competitive Grants Program.

AMES, Iowa--The 16th Annual Iowa Organic Conference will be held Nov. 13-14 on the University of Iowa (UI) campus in Iowa City, as a joint effort between Iowa State University and the UI Office of Sustainability. Producers and experts from across the country will share tips for transitioning into organic production and methods to enhance organic operations.

AMES, Iowa—Summaries of three recently completed research projects are now available from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. The projects were funded by the Center’s long-running Competitive Grants Program. The reports summarize how each project was conducted and what was learned.

AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University is one of 13 prominent research institutions in the United States that joined the SoAR Foundation today in calling for a surge in federal support of food and agricultural science. Retaking the Field, the report released by this coalition, highlights recent scientific innovations and illustrates how U.S.

AMES, Iowa—The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is now accepting pre-proposals as part of the Center’s long-running competitive grants program.

Those with innovative ideas for research projects that impact water, soil, crops, and the land are encouraged to submit a pre-proposal. The competitive grants program is comprised of four initiatives: Ecology, Marketing and Foods Systems, Policy, and Cross-cutting.

The regular monthly Iowa Learning Farms webinar for June will be on Wednesday, June 15 at 1 p.m. This month’s guest speaker is Angie Carter, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Welfare at Augustana College. Carter is an environmental sociologist and an eighth generation Iowan. She studies the intersections of social change, community, and the environment.

AMES, Iowa--The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is accepting nominations for the distinguished Spencer Award for 2016. The Spencer Award is one of the largest and longest running awards of its kind in Iowa. It recognizes farmers, teachers or researchers who have made significant contributions to the environmental and economic stability of the Iowa farming community.

Individuals may apply for the Spencer Award or nominate others. Forms must be submitted, along with two letters of support, to the Leopold Center by June 15.

With farming margins tighter than ever, farmers in the Turkey River Watershed can get help identifying areas of their operations that are dragging their bottom-line.

The Iowa Soybean Association, in conjunction with the Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), is leading a project in the Turkey River Watershed to offer farmers a confidential profitability analysis at a discounted price of 25 cents/acre.

A directory is now available for those seeking out local, fresh food beyond the grocery store. The publication, Iowa CSA Farms: 2016 Statewide List of CSA Farms and Organizers Serving Iowa, has just been updated to include the latest contact information from farms across the state who offer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.